What Sheogorath Did in Shin Akavir
by RevvEmUp
Summary: First 5E spin-off. Set during the events of Return to Akavir, Sheogorath explores the hidden city of Shin Akavir, but discovers the past of not only the city's, but his own.
1. Chapter 1

In Morning Star of the year 2016 5E, the crew of the Northern Cardinal II, the Grand Spymaster of the Blades, Sheogorath, and other heroes, ventured to Akavir to thwart a Ka Po' Tun plot and discovered an underground city called Shin Akavir. Sheogorath accompanied the Nerevarine and the Grand Spymaster to the Dragonguard Temple in the city. He stood next to the door in the council room as they discussed with the Dragonguard Council. "I hope Jiggy ain't messing up my pad… or checking the fridge corner. I should've brought a book." Sheogorath commented in boredom. "Ah, I'll just explore while I'm here." he said as he walked out the door.

Being invisible to mortals at the time, he broke into a vending machine with Nocturnal's Skeleton Key he stole, and took off with Akaviri money; paper bills depicting their Emperor and coins with square-shaped holes. He walked outside to the driveway and de-cloaked himself. He took off his top hat and shook up above the road, causing his S.U.V. to pop out of the opening. He entered the car and drove off. He drove into the colourful city road filled with cars below a magical faux-sky lining the cavern ceiling.

"Yeesh, am I in Sentinel, or what?" Sheogorath commented at the bright glowing signs depicting strange characters accompanied by Akaviri text on the buildings. He parks near what appears to an arcade, judging by its glass doors showing a large room with rows of arcade machines. "Digi World? I've heard of that before! Some kid from Akavir I met in Passwall said he was here last before… something screwed up his mind and ended up in the Shivering Isles. Let's go in!" Sheogorath said as he looked at the arcade before exiting his car. He enters the arcade and hands the employee; a young Akaviri man, at the counter a pile of Akaviri coins. "Give me whatever this is worth." he said to the employee.

The employee takes the coins and hands Sheogorath five arcade tokens. "Enjoy." the man said in Akaviri. Sheogorath looks around the arcade machines and the people playing them, immediately understanding the Akaviri script on the machines, due to him previously infiltrating minds of Akaviri who fell into madness. He plays around with some of the games, one of them being a dance-based game in which one would play by striking the appropriate arrows on a platform according to the screen, but instead of using his feet he played while doing a dancing handstand, attracting the attention of the various arcade-goers who cheer him on. Among the crowd was a young Imperial woman dressed in a white long-sleeved jacket with a silver lapel pin depicting a screaming head.

Later as Sheogorath pranced to the exit, the arcade employee stopped him. "Um, a lady told me to give this to you." he said in broken Tamriellic, handing Sheogorath a letter. "Something, something, park… map… revenge… Who is this guy? Riffs? What a weird name." Sheogorath mumbled as he skimmed through the letter. Later he goes to a grassy park filled with trees glowing blue leaves in irregular spots and a large lake. He approaches a red food cart manned by an elderly woman wearing a knitted jacket and skullcap.

"What's this you're selling?" Sheogorath asked the woman in Akaviri as she cooked fried balls of batter in a griddle with small pits that form a half-sphere. "You must be from the lower levels. This is takoyaki, its main ingredient is octopus from the underground lakes that connect to the ocean, chop them up, and put them in batter and form them into balls. You should try one!" the woman explained enthusiastically in Akaviri. "Hey, Sheogorath!" a feminine voice called out from behind him. He turns around and sees three identical Imperial women dressed in the same jackets, but in white, red, and yellow. "You might want to get away from here." Sheogorath warned the woman.

She complies and pushes her cart away from them. "Is one of you Riffs?" Sheogorath asked them. "That would be me." the woman in white said as she took an ornate tuning fork with a screaming head much like the one on the Wabbajack on its handle from her pocket. The buckle on her belt fastening her skinny jeans changes into an ellipse with a slot in the shape of the tuning fork. "Henshin!" she cried as she inserted the tuning fork into the belt.

She bursts into white flames before revealing white Dark Seducer armour with a black form-fitting undersuit, and a helmet resembling that of a white amber helmet, but with a black opaque faceplate. The other two transform into similar armour, but in red and yellow, the red one additionally wearing a wide-brimmed hat that was as wide as her shoulders. The three charge at Sheogorath, but he points a staff with an eyeball at the end at them and with a " **Hold!** " of the staff, they freeze in place. "Not so tough now, are you?" Sheogorath mocked them. The three simultaneously yell "Encore!" and they transform into more heavily armoured forms and unfreeze for Riffs to punch Sheogorath in the face.

He stumbles under a tree and conjures two Golden Saints to fight for him. Riffs conjures a red guitar with a lute-shaped body and with a single Riffs, shreds the two soldiers into nothing. "Wait a minute… I remember now. According to the Myths of Sheogorath, the previous me killed some lady and made instruments out of her body parts; tendons into a lute, skull and arm bones into drums, and other bones into flutes. Some years ago I unleashed monsters from my realm and in guilt, used the original instruments to make heroes to fight them. Now you're getting revenge on me." Sheogorath explained, in a calmer tone. "You made us out of guilt?" Riffs asked in a distorted voice. "Yep, it happens sometimes." Sheogorath said as he scratched the back of his head.

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

"I sent the monsters… what's their name? The Neuwrongs! That's what they were. I sent them away because they started popping up everywhere in the Isles and started destroying everything. I lured them through a gate in a rush, but after knowing what would happen I threw in the original instruments that I… the other I made with a bit of me on them to fight the Neuwrongs." Sheogorath explained. "You're not like the raving madman that comes to us in our dreams every night. Are you really Sheogorath?" the red warrior asked. "I'm not sure if you know about this but I'm not the same Sheogorath that created music. A man was mantled as Sheogorath after defeating Jyggalag, the Prince of Order that was changed into the Sheogorath you knew. That man was known throughout Tamriel as a hero, so every now and then he would… I'm gonna say pop up. I think that side of me threw you into this world and is talking to you right now. Is it too late for a sorry?" Sheogorath explained. The three huddle together for a discussion.

"We didn't count on this. What do we do?" Riffs asked. "We get what we planned in the beginning: revenge. As soon as we break up we charge at him with Ensemble." the red warrior suggested. "Can we really destroy him? He's a Daedric Prince, after all." the yellow warrior wondered. "We have the capacity to hurt him enough for him to reconsider involving himself in the matters of mortals." the red warrior said. "Maybe he can help us with our dream problem, and maybe get to know him more. He's… different than the Sheogorath we know of. If he tries something, then we can use Ensemble." Riffs suggested.

They break up from their huddle and transform back into their human forms. "He's gone!" Riffs said as she looked at the tree where Sheograth was previously. "He's over at that takoyaki stand, see?" the woman in yellow said as she pointed to a bench in the distance behind her. They walk over to the bench where Sheogorath was eating fried batter balls from a small white takeout box with a toothpick. "Oh hey! Want one? It tastes great. But not as great as when I went elytra hunting and ate its thorax after dismembering it alive. The screams make it taste even better! Just so you know the Dementia ones are a bitterer." Sheogorath said in his regular mood.

"We decided to not get our revenge for now and get to know you. My name is Maria, which is the name my adopted parents gave me, and the other two are… well, also Maria. I'm Maria Tendinis, the one in yellow is Maria Reed, and the red one is Maria Date." Maria introduced herself and the other two to Sheogorath. "The name's Sheogorath and I like long walks on the beach in the evening. Did I mention smashing random crabs with hammers while doing so?" Sheogorath joked. "Can we kill him now?" Maria Date asked Maria Tendinis impatiently. Just then, a creature resembling a skeleton inside a large white suit with a glass dome helmet appears from thin air and stumbles on the ground near the four, followed by a red-caped ghostly figure wearing a armour resembled Daedric armour without pauldrons and blue light glowing underneath the plating, a black flat-faced helmet with a blue upside-down isosceles triangular faceplate decorated with an image of a blue downwards-pointing sword and a wide triangular crest on its forehead. He also wore a belt that resembled his triangular crest with a purple inner triangle carved with the same sword on his faceplate.

He floated above the ground in front of the creature before lowering themselves as the creature stood up. "Requiescat in pace." the ghostly figure said as he conjured a black-and-purple pistol with a device in the shape of a square rotated 90° between the grip and barrel. He places two soul gems in the shape of flat isosceles triangles inside the square, forming a square gem inside the device. " **Damashoot!** " a distorted voice from the gun yelled. He aims at the creature as it stood up and shoots a bullet trailing purple light that explodes on impact.

As the smoke clears, the four look in awe at the scene as the warrior twirls his pistol by the trigger "Encore!" Sheogorath yelled with a mouthful of takoyaki. The warrior's armour fades away, revealing a young Akaviri man with messy white hair wearing a white trenchcoat. "Who are you?" Maria Tendinis asked the man as he walked towards them. "Syffim Rider Yureis, Haruki Hashi. I'm from Hashi Paranormal Investigations and Temple of Arkay, here's my _card_." he said in Akaviri as he gave her a business card.

"A what?" Sheograth wondered. "The Syffim Riders are heroes, just like us, who defends Akavir from threats. We are called so because we are usually seen riding motorcycles." Maria Reed explained. "Where're your wheels, then?" Sheogorath asked Maria Reed. "Parked." she replied. "I must be going. Bye." Haruki said as he walked away.

"There's not much action like that on Tamriel. You three should give me a tour and hope we run into something like that!" Sheogorath suggested as he crushed the empty box with his hands. "I don't like this." Maria Date said in concern. Later, they were driving through a wide road within the city in Sheogorath's S.U.V.; Maria Tendinis sitting in the front passenger seat and the other two at the back. "These roads are really wide, and I mean really wide!" Sheogorath commented. "These roads were made so that Troopers can battle here." Maria Tendinis explained.

"Troopers?" Sheogorath wondered. Just then, a giant robot teleported on in the middle of the road; it resembled a Seeker daedroth in humanoid form in robes with a staff, followed by a robot resembling a gold legionnaire with a glowing red T-shaped faceplate on the other end of the street.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

As the legionnaire robot sheathes its sword, five smaller black ninja-like robots teleport around it, each with accents of red, blue, yellow, white, and pink, respectively. They each transform into samurai armour plating that attach onto the legionnaire robot; blue and yellow as the pauldrons and sleeves, pink and white as leggings and boots, and red forming a helmet-like attachment onto the head that transforms it into a legionnaire-samurai hybrid, complete with a sword with a gladius grip and katana blade. " **Emperor LegaJin!** " a dramatic voice boomed from the robot. "You'll pay for putting me for all that embarassment!" the sorcerer-like robot's voice boomed in Akaviri before summoning green skull-like projectiles that crash into the other robot. The people on the road evacuate their cars into nearby buildings, including Sheogorath and the Marias.

They follow a crowd into a small café as they watch the robots fight. "What's going on?" Sheogorath wondered. "Earlier about the Troopers; that's them fighting the one with tentacles! Syffim Riders aren't the only heroes in Shin Akavir. Troopers are teams that work together against threats, utilizing mechas on larger threats. The team operating the mecha is called Ninja Sentai Giritrooper." Maria Date explained.

"You have robot fights all the time? The largest robots I see regularly are only six feet tall!" Sheogorath said as he looked out of the window. The golden robot stumbles backwards, but slashes its sword horizontally and then vertically for two blasts of blue energy to fly towards the opposing robot. With its staff, the sorcerer robot blocks both blasts. "You should know by now that that won't work!" the sorcerer robot taunted as it levitated its opponent and sends it crashing into the ground repeatedly. Just then, a green fortress teleports from the sky and transforms into another boxy robot for it to shoot the sorcerer robot with fireballs from its shoulder cannons.

The legionnaire robot throws its fists in the air before the fortress robot breaks apart and forms into arm-mounted cannons and a brick-patterned chestplate on the legionnaire robot. " **Emperor LegaJin, Kamegu-Jo!** " a voice yelled from the combined robot. "Doesn't matter what you use against me, you can't defeat me!" the sorcerer robot yelled before being blasted by repeating fireballs from both cannons. "What a show!" Sheogorath cheered on, throwing his fist in the air. The faceplate of the robot starts glowing red before the cannons and each armour-robot also start glowing in their respective colours.

Each part shoots a concentrated blast of energy at the sorcerer robot, causing a large explosion around it. "Not today!" the sorcerer robot yelled before collapsing and blowing up. The robot turns around as its opponent explodes, but from the smoke a larger, more organic version of the sorcerer robot appears and bats the legionnaire robot to the side with its staff. "Is that normal?" Sheogorath wondered. As the legionnaire robot starts to stand up, it is pinned down by the sorcerer's staff.

"Earlier you meantioned something about an Ensemble. What was that about?" Sheogorath asked Maria Tendinis. "All three of us shout 'Ensemble' and combine into one giant form, about the same size as the Troopers' robots. Why do you ask?" Maria Tendinis explained. "Hey, did I mention that I trained in thievery?" Sheogorath said to the Marias. "Why are you bringing it up?" Maria Tendinis asked. Sheogorath shows them their tuning forks and belts in his hands in front of them before running out of the café.

"Get back here!" Maria Date exclaimed before being restrained by the other two. Sheogorath stood on the street and inserted the tuning forks into their respective slots on the belts before strapping all three onto his waist and stomach. "What was it… right! Ensemble!" Sheogorath yelled as he threw his fist in the air. Purple and orange flames engulf him as purple-and-orange armour resembling parts of the Marias' own armour forms around him. He grows in size matching that of the legionnaire robot.

"Who are you?" the sorcerer wondered as he looked behind him where Sheogorath stood. "Sheogorath! Prince of Madness, pleased to make your acquaintance." Sheogorath responded with a bow. "The Prince of Madness has no right to interfere in the matters of Vaermina!" the sorcerer warned Sheogorath. "Vaermina? What does she have to do with this?" Sheogorath asked as he scratched the left temple of his helmet. "Not Vaermina directly, no, but my master, Lord Kokken, a loyal follower who will claim this land for her!" the sorcerer announced.

"He's got a funny name." Sheogorath said in Tamriellic before conjuring a massive axe-like guitar in his signature colours. "Got any requests?" Sheogorath quipped before making the first strum. He plays loud heavy metal towards the sorcerer and blasts powerful waves of sound at him. As the raises a ward from his staff, the legionnaire robot stands up and blasts him in the shoulder. As the sorcerer crashes into a city block, the two titans stand side-by-side in front of him, the legionnaire once more charging their beams as Sheogorath raises his guitar pick.

"And now for the finale!" Sheogorath yelled before shredding away at his guitar. The combined force of the sound wave and the energy blasts destroy the sorcerer immediately as the two turns away from the explosion. "High five?" Sheogorath said as he turned to the robot with his hand in the air. The left arm cannon crumble away, revealing a hand and high-fives Sheogorath. "Later!" Sheogorath said to the robot before shrinking back into his human form as the robot breaks apart into their original components and teleport away.

In the Dragonguard Temple, the Blades Grand Spymaster, Todd Howard, the Nerevarine and an Akaviri man wearing a military uniform watched the area where the battle took place on a large computer screen in a control room. "LegaJin may look powerful, but mechas of their size are too small to face Tosh Raka." the man explained "I think I have an idea…" the Nerevarine said in a hopeful tone.

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Later in the city, the Marias finds Sheogorath sitting on a bench among the rubble, whistling away happily. "'Sup?" Sheogorath greeted as he turned his head towards them. Maria Date runs toward Sheogorath and punches him in the face, knocking him onto the ground. "Ow! I should have seen that coming!" Sheogorath cried as he rubbed his forehead. "Belts. Now!" Maria Date said angrily as she held out her hand towards Sheogorath.

He hands her the three belts with the tuning forks still attached before standing up and dusting himself off. "Do they even keep your pants up?" Sheogorath wondered. "What was **that** for?" Maria Tendinis asked as she put on her belt. "It looked like they were in trouble, so I decided to help. Knowing that you three won't help, especially little miss hothead, I stole your equipment and did it myself. Plus, it looked fun." Sheogorath explained. "Why did you even help in the first place?" Maria Tendinis asked.

"Did I not explain earlier at the park? Sometimes I'm Sheogorath, sometimes I'm a virtuous hero. It just happens." he explained." So where were we going to before we were rudely interrupted?" Sheogorath asked Maria Tendinis as he took off his hat and shakes it. They later resume their trip in Sheogorath's car, waiting in traffic on a road leading to a wide tunnel embedded into a cavern wall. "You said there were levels here. Which one are we going to?" Sheogorath wondered. "We're going to Little Tamriel; Level Four. Our place." Maria Tendinis answered.

"You know, the other Maria… Reed was it? You've been quiet lately." Sheogorath commented. "She's shy." Maria Date answered. "And you can fight, how?" Sheogorath asked Maria Reed. "I fight… alright…" Maria Reed replied quietly. "Does she weigh you two down often?" Sheogorath asked Maria Tendinis and Maria Date.

"When we were active we fought separately most of the time. We had to build her courage enough for her to fight on her own." Maria Tendinis explained. "Remember on our first battle, she got thrashed around by a Stinging Mantis and played her Femur Flute so terribly that it barely even affected the Darkmen other than getting harsh critique!" Maria Date recalled in a mocking voice. "You're embarrassing me in front of dad!" Maria Reed said before the car falls into awkward silence and blank faces. "Did you call me dad?" Sheogorath asked. "Sorry…" Maria Reed said quietly.

For the rest of the wait they stood silent until they reached the tunnel's mouth where they were met by a checkpoint toll with its guard; a young Akaviri man with thick dark green hair wearing appropriate blue guard uniform. "Welcome to Level One East Tunnel, may I see your papers?" the man requested. "Sanjo Hiroshi, is that you?" Maria Tendinis said in surprise at seeing the guard. "Riffs? How are you? What bring you here? Who's the old man?" Hiroshi asked. "Girls, who is this?" Sheogorath asked as he turned to Maria Tendinis.

"This is Sanjo Hiroshi; Syffim Rider Ark. He was active five years ago." Maria Tendinis explained. "You're a superhero working a checkpoint?" Sheogorath wondered in a confused tone. "Yeah. I do some part-time jobs every now and then. So, who are you?" Hiroshi asked Sheogorath in Tamriellic. "Have they told you about a Mad God that plagued their dreams? That's me. I'm just visiting Akavir for a while." Sheogorath explained. "If that's the case, I'm not sure if I should let you in." Hiroshi said with a cautious tone.

"C'mon, we're already here. Why not let us in?" Maria Date persuaded Hiroshi after rolling down her window. "Well, try not to cause any trouble. I already heard about the Trooper operation today." Hiroshi said before raising the boom gate, letting them into the tunnel. They enter the tunnel and the car is shrouded in blue light before emerging on the other side of the tunnel to be met by a city with Imperial architecture. "Nice city. What's it called?" Sheogorath wondered. "Little Cyrodiil. We live here, around this area actually." Maria Date answered.

Later they drive into a small suburban neighbourhood with Imperial and park in a driveway of a house with a large gash on the garage door. "What happened here?" Sheogorath wondered. "I happened." Maria Date said as she took off her seatbelt and left the car. "Nice place you got here. What are your jobs?" Sheogorath asked the Marias as Maria Tendinis opened the front door. "We're a band. We're called the Broken Mind." Maria Date answered.

"Broken Mind? Did that come to you one night and you all thought it sounded cool?" Sheogorath asked mockingly. They enter the house and find a standard living room with wooden floorboards and walls painted white with Akaviri-style couches, a patio door at the end of the room, and a set of stairs next to the door along with a shoe rack. "Do you have like, a secret base in here or something?" Sheogorath wondered as he belly-flopped onto a wide couch. "Take off your shoes!" Maria Date scolded. "Yikes, okay!" Sheogorath said as he took off his black leather shoes and threw them perfectly onto the shoe rack.

"We used to be assisted by the Dragonguard when we were active ten years ago, but we're basically retired after defeating the Neuwrongs. We do take up arms now and then when other Riders need help." Maria Tendinis explained. "So… what's there to do here? Why did I have to come home with you? We could've gone to, like, some club or something." Sheogorath asked. "Remember when I told you about you appearing in our dreams? Can you help with that?" Maria Tendinis requested as she sat on an armchair in front of the patio doors. "You know, there was this one time I sat in an insane dead emperor's mind and made some sucker un-insane said emperor's mind." Sheogorath recalled as he lied on his side with his hand against his cheek.

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

"Is that a yes or a no?" Maria Date wondered. "No. I can't do anything about dreams. You'll have to ask Vaermina about that… or have you tried therapy?" Sheogorath replied. "We tried therapy. Emphasis on 'tried'." Maria Date answered. "Are you sure there isn't anything you can do?" Maria Reed asked. "Maybe I can call up Vaermina and see if she can help." Sheogorath suggested as he sat upright and reached inside his hat.

On his phone, he goes to his contacts list and taps on Vaermina's name and puts his phone to his ear. "What is it, Sheogorath?" an annoyed voice asked from the other side. "Hi I need some help with some dream-related stuff." Sheogorath said. "Be specific. I was in the middle of conversing with a worshipper." she said impatiently. "Is it this Kokken guy that I heard about?" Sheogorath asked.

"How did you know that?" Vaermina asked. "I blew up his giant tentacle wizard." Sheogorath responded nonchalantly. "That was you? What happened to not interfering with matters of other Princes?!" Vaermina roared. "In my defence, I didn't know he was with you. Look, I just need to get into the heads of three people and that's it." Sheogorath requested. "Are you not able to do that yourself?" Vaermina asked.

"Well yeah, but I can't get into their dreams directly. So… can you help me?" Sheogorath asked. "Whose dreams do you wish enter?" Vaermina asked. Sheogorath puts her on video call and shows his phone to the Marias. "Who are they? Did they request you to mend their minds?" Vaermina asked, taking the form of a human woman with darkened skin and red eyes. "They're basically my daughters. Long story. They had nightmares involving me and want me to fix it." Sheogorath said.

Maria Date angrily throws a brick in Sheogorath's direction, but misses and makes a hole in the kitchen door behind the long couch. "What was that?" Vaermina wondered. "That one doesn't like me." Sheogorath said. "In order for me to gain access to their dreams they must be asleep." Vaermina noted. "Gotcha." Sheogorath confirmed as he put her on hold.

From his hat he removes a metal gas tank labelled "ZZZ" to the Marias' surprise. "Sweet dreams!" Sheogorath said before opening the valve. The Marias start falling asleep as Maria Date conjures a drumstick-like mace and shambles toward Sheogorath, but collapses in front of him. "What next?" Sheogorath asked as he put his phone to his ear. "The door that the angry one threw a brick at, you should be able to access their mind from there." Vaermina instructed.

"Tha-" Sheogorath said before being cut off by Vaermina hanging up. "Bada bum bum! Started: Broken Mind." Sheogorath said, imitating a drum as he walked through the door. Behind the door was a dark void with a crumbled brick on where the ground would be. "This is slightly less terrifying that what's-his-face's tower." Sheogorath commented as he stared at the brick. The environment starts shifting into a corridor of an apartment complex on its top floor.

He enters inside and finds himself in a living room covered in blood with two dismembered bodies on the floor. "Good golly gosh! Who spilled the ketchup!?" Sheogorath yelled. He hears faint crying from behind a couch in front of the balcony sliding door. He walks slowly behind the couch and finds a little girl wearing a blood-stained dress curled up in a foetal position. "Hey there…" Sheogorath said creepily.

The little girl lets out a loud piercing scream and runs away from Sheogorath and out the front door. "Well damn." Sheogorath said. "Hey." A familiar voice said from behind Sheogorath. He stands up and looks behind him and sees himself smiling and covered in blood. "You're in my spot." The other Sheogorath said as he put his hand on Sheogorath's shoulder.

Sheogorath grabs his hand for a few seconds before throwing his duplicate behind him and sends him crashing on a small table with a lamp before running outside. "Hey kid, wait up!" Sheogorath yelled. On the street, the girl runs along the empty pavement as Sheogorath chases after her. "I'm the real Sheogorath! Stop!" Sheogorath pleaded. As they run, the world starts crumbling from the space between them until Sheogorath falls into the void beneath, screaming.

He later finds himself on the lawn of a mansion with an Akaviri motif, making it resemble a white castle. "It's no New Sheoth, but it looks great." he commented as he walked towards the door. He knocks on one of the two wooden doors with stained glass for no response. "Pizza delivery!" he said before opening the door himself and entering. He enters and finds the lobby on fire and rubble on the floor from the ceiling.

He hears crying coming further inside the house runs towards it through a set of doors up a flight of stairs. He finds follows the voice to an empty room that appears to be a ballroom with one of the Marias as a little girl crying and Nightmare Sheogorath standing in front of her. "Hey, handsome!" Sheogorath called out as he conjured the Wabbajack as a shotgun. "Run, Maria, run!" Sheogorath yelled. The girl runs towards the door behind Sheogorath before he slams the door shut.

"Here we go!" the other Sheogorath yelled as he charged in with Wabbajack in staff form. Sheogorath fires at Nightmare Sheogorath, turning him into a very large werewolf. "Son of a-" Sheogorath yelled before being thrown out of a window by the werewolf. Once more Sheogorath falls into a dark abyss before crash landing on the front lawn of the Marias' suburban house. "Seriously, these girls have some serious problems." Sheogorath commented before approaching the front door. "Knock, knock!" he screamed before kicking the door open.

He enters the living room to find Nightmare Sheogorath, one of the Marias as a little girl, and on the floor corpses of an Imperial man and woman; Maria's parents.

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

"…So little girl, how did it feel? Exhilarating, wasn't it?" Nightmare Sheogorath said to Maria as she silently cried, looking upon the corpses of her parents. "Leave her alone!" Sheogorath said as he knocked Nightmare Sheogorath's head clean off his shoulders with his Wabbajack bat. "Are you alright?" Sheogorath asked Maria. "*SNIFF* I… I…" Maria stuttered. "Shh… it's okay. Daddy's here." Sheogorath comforted Maria as he hugged her.

As her last tear fell, she reverts into her adult form: Maria Tendinis, wearing her signature white jacket. Sheogorath lets go of Maria and asks "How are you feeling?" in a calmer tone. "I'm feeling alright." Maria said. "So… what happened here?" Sheogorath asked as they faced the two bodies. "My parents. We all had dreams of us killing our parents, but that never happened in real life. My parents passed a few years ago, but the other two's are still alive." Maria explained.

"Do you know where they are? They ran when I found them in their dreams." Sheogorath said. "Before we all met, at the end of our dreams we would find each other standing in the park we were in before. As we stood we saw the city being attacked by the Neuwrongs as a larger version of you stomped around the city, laughing. That's why we lured you at the park before, for symbolic stuff." Maria explained. "How do you usually get there?" Sheogorath asked. "We ran, just like you said. If I'm right my motorcycle should be in the garage." Maria said. "Let's go then. Let's finish this once and for all." Sheogorath said confidently.

They go outside for Maria to lift the garage doors, revealing a purple chopper with a screaming face where the headlight should be. "Nice ride." Sheogorath commented. "Thanks. We each have our own that we collectively called Machine Forte. Your butler came by ten years ago and gave us these, according to your orders." Maria explained. "I did? I need to keep track of my actions more often. I tend to forget stuff when I calm down and vice-versa." Sheogorath said. Maria takes her tuning fork from her pocket and exclaims "Henshin!" before inserting it into her belt buckle, transforming into Syffim Rider Riffs.

They mount the motorcycle and drive off into the empty city through the tunnel. They eventually arrive outside the park they were in hours prior in the real world. They park Forte and enter the park, the trees being noticeably dead. "Where exactly do you meet in the dream?" Sheogorath asked. "Where we were before: near the lake and under some trees." Riffs said in a distorted voice.

There, they see the two other Marias, still as children. "Reed, Date, it's me: Tendinis." Riffs said to the children. They back away slowly at the sight of Sheogorath. "Don't worry, I'm the real Sheogorath. Now that I say it, it's not very assuring." Sheogorath said to the children. "You have to remember: none of this is real. Your parents are still alive, none of us killed them!" Riffs assured as she crouched down to face them.

The two children morph into their adult selves; the bloodstained Maria into Maria Reed, and the soot-covered Maria into Maria Date. "Thanks, Tendy." Maria Date said to Riffs. "So… where's giant me?" Sheogorath wondered. Just then, giant monsters that appear to be hybrids of different arthropods and black humanoids with visual distortion covering their bodies materialise in the park. "Here they are!" Riffs yelled.

"Henshin!" Maria Date and Maria Reed yell as they transform into their Syffim Rider forms; Beats and Winds, respectively. "Let's kick it!" they collectively yelled before charging in as Sheogorath conjured a Daedric sword. Riffs conjures her guitar and swings it around like a blunt weapon at the humanoid Neuwrongs, Beats using her drumstick-clubs as one would use normally, and Winds using a bone-like pistol to shoot the Neuwrongs. Sheogorath mows down a large number of Neuwrongs at the tens before being ambushed by a giant Neuwrong resembling a cross between a praying mantis and a scorpion. "Have I ever told the story about the elytra hunt?" Sheogorath said to the Neuwrong before being swatted by its scythe appendage onto a dead tree.

"Well, here's how it roughly went…" Sheogorath said before jumping on the creature's head. As the Neuwrong struggled to reach Sheogorath with its scythes, it uses its tail to stab Sheogorath, but he jumps onto its back and cuts off its two front legs with his sword. The tail continues to attack Sheogorath, but it misses and repeatedly hits the wings of the creature before getting it stuck in its thorax. Sheogorath severs the stinger before jumping down from the Neuwrong and slashing its front right leg. He slices off the rest of the legs as the creature watches helplessly as it bends its neck down.

It collapses for Sheogorath to deliver the killing blow by driving the tip of his sword into the Neuwrong's head. "That's how it went until the part where I stabbed you in the head." Sheogorath said humorously. The Neuwrong explodes and sends Sheogorath into the air, screaming. He falls down and lands on Beats, who just collected her detached head from an ash pile, former Newrong. "Get off me, old man!" she scolded as she pushed Sheogorath away.

They find that they cleared the park of the monsters and converge back under the tree where they met. "Where's giant me? Is he coming yet?" Sheogorath wondered. From a faraway street, a giant version of Sheogorath materialises and laughs a hearty laugh as he stomps on a building. "Come out, little girls! I won't bite… I'll swallow you all whole!" he yelled with a booming and deepened voice. "Everyone, Ensemble!" Riff said as she raised her tuning fork into the air.

The other two do the same and touch each other's forks, fusing them together into a purple six-pronged fork with the three faces not unlike the ones on the Wabbajack.

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7

They burn in their respective colours as the flame grows, turning into a column of purple and orange fire until they grow into Ensemble; a giant resembling a purple and orange version of their armour as Sheogorath looks in awe. "Go get me, girls!" Sheogorath cheered on as they approach the Nightmare Sheogorath. "Let's finish this! No more sleepless nights!" Ensemble yelled with the combined voices of the three. Nightmare Sheogorath conjures a staff adorned with a sculpture of four scamp Daedra on the tip and raises it in the air, conjuring four giant scamps on nearby buildings. They all pounce on Ensemble, but she conjures an axe-like guitar and plays a riff, shredding all four scamps to pieces.

"Scamps? Really?" she mocked. Nightmare Sheogorath smiles and conjures Wabbajack in its signature staff form and shoots a sonic boom at Ensemble, pushing her back several miles and disintegrating the buildings around her. She stands up with ease and sticks her arms out towards Nightmare Sheogorath to cast back more sonic booms from her palms. Nightmare Sheogorath casts a ward as the sonic boom disintegrates around him as well. Nightmare Sheogorath aims the Wabbajack at his face, for the confusion of Ensemble and Sheogorath.

He casts invisibility on himself and strikes Ensemble in the stomach causing her to kneel down. "How is this possible? I thought the Wabbajack's effects are random?" Ensemble wondered. "I can do that too, if I be me hard enough!" Sheogorath yelled from the park. From out of nowhere, an ice spike impales Ensemble through the shoulder and staggers her more. "Ahh!" she screamed in pain as she pulled the ice spike out.

She stands up as Nightmare Sheogorath, standing on a building leaning on the Wabbajack with a smug smile. Ensemble throws the ice spike towards him, but he points the Wabbajack at her and they switch places, impaling Ensemble through the face and knocking her off the building. Nightmare Sheogorath turns away from Ensemble as she explodes, sending her components back to the park in front of Sheogorath, their armour charred as chipped. "Ugh… Are you normally this powerful?" Beats asked Sheogorath as she struggled to stand up. "I think this is because you're weak." Sheogorath said.

"What did you say?!" Beats said angrily as she shambled towards Sheogorath. She almosts collapses only for Sheogorath to catch her. "What I'm saying is that you're not trying hard enough. Dreams are different from reality. And dreams belong to you, unless Vaermina's in there. Then you're on your own." Sheogorath said. "What are you trying to say?" Riffs asked. "This is your dream! You can control it however you want! You just need to think, think of you all defeating giant me." Sheogorath explained.

"He's right. This is our mind. Our dream. In dreams, we get to do whatever we want!" Riffs encouraged Beats and Winds. "Let's do it!" Winds cheered. The three lined up in front of Sheogorath for pillars of light to form behind them and turn into other Syffim Riders.

* * *

Syffim Rider Waata was armed with blue armour emulating pectoral and abdominal muscles on a black undersuit with blue kneepads, a helmet with giant round blue eyes and two golden horns protruding from his head pointing in opposite directions, and a belt with a large blue gem in place of a buckle.

Syffim Rider Suleyk wore armour with a chestplate made of golden dragon bone on a brown undersuit made of dragon scales, a helmet resembling a golden dragonplate helmet with triangular red eyes and a mouth plate resembling jagged teeth, and a black stone belt with a large red gem with symbols in Dovahzul.

Syffim Rider Akaki was dressed with silver armour resembling boxy pectorals over a red chainmail undersuit, a silver helmet with wings on the sides and a T-shaped opening with two red triangular eyes beneath it, and a belt with a small rectangular mirror as a buckle.

Syffim Rider Teiz wore a high-tech suit of yellow and silver armour with a "T" in red over his chestplate, a helmet with giant "T" in red between triangular eyes covering most of his upper face and a mouthplate resembling insect mandibles, and a sideways smartphone with a yellow "T" onscreen as a buckle.

Syffim Rider Keima wore silver and blue armour with pentagonal plating and an Akaviri symbol on the chestplate, a silver helmet resembling a long downwards-pointing pentagon with blue compound eyes and insect mandibles on the bottom of the point, and a belt with a large long pentagon pointing right.

Syffim Rider Ike wore a purple chestplate resembling a spider's face over a silver undersuit, a helmet also resembling that of an upside-down spider's face with mandibles spread apart, and a belt with a robotic purple spider slotted into a device facing left.

Syffim Rider Jikansen was equipped with a red chestplate and shoulder pads on a brass undersuit, a brass helmet resembling the front of a diesel train with rectangular red eyes and a forehead horn like that of an oil lamp spout, and a flat gold buckle in the shape of a side profile of an oil lamp with a red flame burning from the spout.

Syffim Rider Kuromori was shrouded with an armoured version of black and orange vampire royal armour complete with a bat-shaped cape, a black helmet with a glowing orange mask resembling a bat's silhouette, and a belt with a buckle resembling a syringe pointing to the right.

* * *

They charged into the city as Akaki conjured a mechanical red dragon and Kuromori conjured a black fortress next to Nightmare Sheogorath that transformed into a stone dragon. The other riders including Riffs, Beats, and Winds conjure their motorcycles as they ran into the city.

"Where is my damned phone?" Sheogorath wondered as he hurriedly reached into his hat. "Aha!" he said as he took out his iPear and records Nightmare Sheogorath being attacked by the castle-dragon and Akaki on his red dragon flying towards him.

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8

As the castle-dragon swung its tail at Nightmare Sheogorath, Ike instantly appears on his giant hand. Nightmare Sheogorath takes notice and attempts to swat him with his other hand, but Ike disappears and reappears on his right shoulder. While distracted, the castle-dragon breathes fire on him as the Syffim Riders drive vertically up his right leg. Nightmare Sheogorath feels this and shakes them off his leg, scattering them in the air. Among them, Teiz presses a button on the dash of his motorcycle and it transforms into a suit of armour with its two wheels turning into large two-fingered claws.

He grabs Riffs and Beats to throw them at Nightmare Sheogorath before catching Winds on both his hands. Teiz crashes into the road, leaving Winds intact while Akaki's dragon catches the rest and flies away. "Are you okay?" she asked Teiz as he lied motionlessly in a Teiz-shaped hole in the road. Teiz stands up robotically and gives her thumbs up as his armour removed itself from him and transformed into a motorcycle. In the air, Riffs and Beats fly towards Nightmare Sheogorath's face with both arms stretched outwards.

He takes notice of this and swats them towards the castle-dragon, taking out both of its eyes. "This went better in my head." Riffs groaned as she lied embedded in the stonework of the creature. From the park, Sheogorath looks at the giant with a look of dread. "I mean, that should be expected when you drive along the leg of a giant monster." he joked. Behind him, a wooden door materialises and from it, a man wearing black master robes plated with teal crystals and leather gloves, a silver helmet with a face resembling that of a mouthless dragon priest mask with open eyes glowing teal, and a belt with six travel-sized books that appear to be miniature spell tomes, a teal book hanging open on the far left side.

"Magna, what are you doing here?" he asked the mysterious mage. "I heard that some Riders need help with nightmares. I thought they could use some assistance." the mage replied as he closed the teal book and flicked open the purple book. His eyes and plating glowed purple as he prepared a conjuration spell with both of his hands. "All Rider!" He said before conjuring more Syffim Riders in front of Sheogorath once more.

* * *

Syffim Rider San was completely armoured from head to toe with scale-like plating, his right side was coloured blue, left was gold, and a stripe of silver along the middle, his helmet had large reflective eyes made to look like a large compact disc composed of the letters "CD", and his belt bore two transparent disc covers on the top sides of a gold isosceles triangle, the right disc was blue labelled "Wave" and the left was gold labelled "King".

Syffim Rider Ark's armour was silver and skin-tight with differing pieces of armour; his helmet included a brown silhouette of an owl's head with triangular eyes and wings on the sides, his chestplate had a large disc with three horizontal segments depicting animal carvings of an own in brown, a bear in brown, and a grey moth, brown clawed gauntlets, leg armour patterned like insect scales much like that of a moth, and boots with moth wings on the ankles. His belt was a wooden horizontal block with a glass pane with three crystal coins carved with three different animals occupying within slots behind the glass; an owl, a bear, and a moth.

Syffim Rider Twouze wore a tight black undersuit patterned with ones and zeroes under a boxy grey chestplate and pauldrons, his wrists and ankles were cuffed with pieces cylindrical grey armour, his grey helmet resembled a flat computer screen displaying "XX" and two router antenna arranged in a "V", and a high-tech white belt buckle shaped like an "X", each end built with rectangular slots much like U.S.B. ports.

Syffim Rider Olera overall resembled a green samurai, the helmet's faceplate resembling a broccoli cross-section, an "M" shaped crest above it and a broccoli-shaped fukigaeshi , the chest piece also resembling a giant metal broccoli joined by large dome-shaped shoulder pieces, and a belt buckle that had an open shoji on it showing an image of a broccoli on a screen, and above it a golden key inserted into it, the key's knob resembling a broccoli top with "VK-07" written on it.

Syffim Rider Moto wore a white racing suit armoured with black S.W.A.T. armour, a white racing helmet with a blue visor that almost resembled triangular sunglasses, and a belt that resembled a miniaturized dashboard including a white three-spoked steering wheel with a stylized "M" on the horn button.

Syffim Rider Yureis was present, but he wore a white cape and his helmet's crest was folded into an outer faceplate with two black triangular eyes.

* * *

"This is gonna be interesting, knowing you." Sheogorath commented enthusiastically.

Akaki's dragon carried the dream Syffim Riders and Winds as the castle-dragon flailed its head blindly causing Riffs and Beats to be flicked off conveniently into the park. "Is there a reason why you didn't dream up the other Syffim Riders?" Magna asked Riffs as she pried her head out of the ground. "Hello to you too, Magna. I thought the first nine were good enough." Riffs explained as she dusted herself off. Nightmare Sheogorath beheads the castle-dragon and sets his sight on the Syffim Riders and Sheogorath. "I'm looking right at me!" Sheogorath warned thee Syffim Riders.

From the Wabbajack, he fires a giant fireball at them, but "Ward Wall!" is blocked by a giant ward casted by Magna, who now sports glowing yellow crystalline robes and circlet. "Follow me." Magna beckoned the three Syffim Riders. "Magnalion!" he said before conjuring a black dirt bike, a glowing teal crystalline dragon priest mask in place of a headlight. He changes his armour colour to grey and, "Raise Earth!" raises the road into a giant ramp towards Nightmare Sheogorath.

To be continued…


	9. Chapter 9

Magna mounts his motorcycle before the rest of the Syffim Riders do the same, Riff, Beats, and Winds just behind him. "Can you do a flip into my eye when you're up there?" Sheogorath jokingly requested to the three musical Syffim Riders. "No, we're doing All Machine Ram to his chest." Magna informed Sheogorath. Nightmare Sheogorath fires a giant ice spike at the Syffim Riders, but is once more blocked by Magna's ward. "Let's go!" Magna yelled before zooming up the ramp and into the air.

He smashes through his ward, creating a hole in it as if it were glass. The Syffim Riders mount their motorcycles, Moto driving a sleek white sports car, and crash through the ward, breaking it. They flew into the sky as Nightmare Sheogorath pointed his Wabbajack at them. Magna changes his colour to orange and "Paralyze!" casts a green ball of magic at Nightmare Sheogorath. The tiny ball hits him and surges throughout his body, paralyzing him as he pointed the Wabbajack at the Syffim Riders.

"All Machine Ram!" Magna and the three musical Syffim Riders yelled before crashing through Nightmare Sheogorath's chest. As they exited through his back, he cracks as if he were glass before exploding into purple fire. The Syffim Riders land on the other side of the city near a pier and watch the firework before them. "Finally…" Riffs said in relief. The area suddenly shifts back to the park without the conjured Syffim Riders, leaving only Magna, Riffs, Beats, Winds, and Sheogorath.

"That was amazing! Does everyone you kill explode?" Sheogorath asked the Syffim Riders excitedly. "Yeah, pretty much." Riffs said. "I must be going now. Goodbye." Magna said as he changed his colour to purple. "Dream Door!" he said before conjuring a door that he exits through. "I guess that's my cue as well. See ya on the flipside!" Sheogorath said to the three before exiting through the door.

He finds himself back in the living room as the front door shut, indicating Magna left. He closes the valve on the gas tank before stuffing it back into his hat. He opens the patio door to let the sleeping gas out before taking a bucket of water from his hat to splash on the three Marias. They wake up drenched and gasping. "Did we do it?" Maria Reed wondered sluggishly.

"Sheogorath? Was all that real?" Maria Tendinis asked Sheogorath as she propped herself on an armchair. "Yeah, pretty much. I recorded your fight on my phone." he replied. He took out his iPear and showed the three a video of the fight against a larger version of Sheogorath with the other Syffim Riders. "So we actually beat him?" Maria Reed asked. "A friend of mine was there. You know about Magna?" Sheogorath asked.

"He's another Syffim Rider who works with the Magnus Institute. We never really talked much when we meet for things involving every Rider." Maria Tendinis explained. "He never told me that he was a Syffim Rider, just that he's a mage named Magna. He occasionally visits the Isles to collect herbs and things for alchemy stuff. Sometimes I invite him for tea. He always insists on having plain sweetrolls when I offer apple, or strawberry, or the Stanley Special. Don't worry, Stanley isn't a part of the dish, may his rind rest in peace. Anyway, the guy's like a modern-day Divayth Fyr." Sheogorath explained. "Who?" the three wondered. "Oh right, you don't know about Tamriel. Divayth Fyr was a Dunmer mage who was like to great at his craft that he managed to extend his life for four-thousand years! And now he's dead. The fella, Magna, he reminds me of him a lot. He just comes and goes into realms like they were rooms in his own house." Sheogorath added. "Sheogorath, I'm sorry for being rude to you earlier. You saw my dream, right? It haunted me more that the others' so I… hated you. I caused my parents' mansion to burn down and ever since that day I kept on seeing you in my dreams laughing and laughing and…" Maria Date said as she teared up.

Sheogorath hugged her tight to comfort her. "It's alright. He's gone now." he said softly as Maria's tears ran down his back. He suddenly transforms into a ghost of a man wearing Imperial armour to the surprise of the other two. He lets go of Maria and looks at his hands. "I'm sorry, this happens sometimes when I'm too… not Sheogorath." the ghost said in a voice too dissimilar to Sheogorath.

"Who are you?" Maria Tendinis asked. "Bendu Olo, Seventh Champion of Cyrodiil. As I… he, mentioned before; the Sheogorath that created the first instruments was my predecessor, now known as Jyggalag, Daedric Prince of Order. I now hold the mantle of Sheogorath." the ghost explained. "Does this happen frequently?" Maria Tendinis asked. "No, it has only happened at least four times." Bendu explained. He then abruptly transforms back to Sheogorath as he collapsed in the floor.

"Whoa, that was trippy!" Sheogorath said as he shook his head. "Sheogorath, I just wanted to say… thanks." Maria Date thanked Sheogorath. "No prob, kiddo." Sheogorath replied. "What now?" Maria Tendinis wondered. "You kids do what you want. I'm gonna do some research about you Rider guys. I felt something about some of them in your dream, like the one that looked like a train." Sheogorath said as he walked towards the front door.

"Look for the Lepido Library on Level Three, a Syffim Rider researcher works there. He could help you." Maria Tendinis suggested. Sheogorath puts on his shoes before waving goodbye and walking through the door. As he walked on the pathway he looked back and saw the girls waving back. Later outside an Imperial-style library with a tall stairway, Sheogorath parks his car and climbs the steps where a young Akaviri man wearing a black suit and black hair styled into a quiff ending in an upwards-pointing spike.

To be continued…


	10. Chapter 10

Sheogorath walked to the top of the stairs and panted in exhaustion as he stood next to the mysterious man. "You okay?" the man asked in Akaviri. "Give me a minute. *SMACKS LIPS* Yeah, I'm fine. You don't happen to be some Rider fan working here?" Sheogorath asked the man in Akaviri as she struggles to catch his breath. "You bet I am! The name's Shinonome Kouki. I'm friends with all the Syffim Riders!" the man introduced himself with a wide smile as he pointed to Sheogorath. "Yeah, I'm new in town and I want to know about them. Could you help me?" Sheogorath asked.

Later inside a library isle with Sheogorath and Kouki sitting at a table with files, Sheogorath examines a photograph of Kouki smiling as he put his arm over Syffim Rider Jikansen's shoulder. He appears to be younger and dressed in a white uniform. "What do you know about this…" "Syffim Rider Jikansen's the name. He travels through time to stop these guys called _Wishmen_ from messing up the timeline." "Yeah… do you know anything about his belt? I swear I've seen it before." Sheogorath said as he examined the photo. "It looks like oil lamps made by the Redguards. Legend says that spirits called _djinn_ lived in them." Kouki explained. "Yeah, I know about the _djinn_. They made wishes and are servants of Clavicus Vile, Daedric Prince of Wishes." Sheogorath said as he read a book with an illustration of some kind of spirit made of smoke.

"Are you also a scholar?" Kouki asked. "Kinda. I'm just curious about these heroes. Anyways, do you know anything about the one with _phone_ on his _belt_?" Sheogorath asked. Kouki handed Sheogorath a file with a "T" in yellow, just like on Teiz's belt. "Teiz was a Rider who fought enhanced lycanthropes called Weres with technology stolen from _Enrich Incorporated_. It was eventually discovered that _Enrich_ was run by lycanthropes who served Hircine, Prince of the Hunt. It was also rumoured that Teiz himself was also a lycanthrope; a werewolf." Kouki explained as Sheogorath flipped through the contents of the file including: pictures of Teiz, newspaper clippings, and a blurry image of a grey werewolf. "Do you know who **I** am?" Sheogorath asked.

"You're Sheogorath, Daedric Prince of Madness, and Riffs's dad!" Kouki replied with the same look on enthusiasm on his face. "Let me guess, the girls told you everything?" Sheogorath said as he shut the file. "Oh yeah! They're my friends after all!" Kouki said. "Have you heard of the _White-Gold Tower_? Sheogorath asked Kouki as he leaned towards him from the desk. "It's a monument and the palace of the _Emperor of Tamriel_!" Kouki answered.

"It also holds the Avatar of Akatosh; a statue that protects Nirn from the forces of Oblivion. As you can see, it's not doing a very good job since I'm sitting right here. Ever since the last turn of the century the statue's getting weaker, yet very few Daedra have appeared on Tamriel on their own. I think that the statue redirects invading Daedra to Akavir and the moons. For example; it looks like the Wishmen are some kind of djinn sent by Clavicus Vile." Sheogorath explained. "What about the monsters you sent?" Kouki asked. "When I sent away the Neuwrongs I forgot entirely about the statue maintaining the barrier, but they still went through. Never thought they ended up here." Sheogorath explained. "If you're a Daedric Prince, why are you touring Shin Akavir?" Kouki asked. "I got curious. I never thought to find out something about my past here. Anyway, you got anything about the Trooper guys?" Sheogorath asked.

Kouki goes to the shelf behind him and browses through it. "It's rare to find out anything about most of their teams because some of them were helped by the Dragonguard, so they tend to cover up some things. They do fight some forces from other Daedric Princes. One example are the Karatroopers; unknown martial arts fighters who fought Osore Syffim; Fear Warriors. As the name suggests, they were followers of Vaermina. The forces that fought the current Troopers weren't the first to be backed by Vaermina. Some of the Daedric Princes have tried more than once to invade, but were thwarted by Riders, Troopers, and other heroes in Akavir." Kouki explained as he showed Sheogorath a photo of three Troopers wearing red, blue, and yellow full-body karategis and catlike helmets. "Does Tamriel have heroes like them?" Kouki asked. "It sounds a bit unbelievable, but there are cities on the two moons. On Masser, there is a city called _New Moon City_ where a lot of vigilantes live. There's a rumour about a vigilante team called the _Last Shellbacks_. In the second Akaviri Invasion there were these Argonian pikemen called shellbacks because of their shields that looked like… actually I think they were made of turtle shells. Anyways, the shellback rank was disbanded a couple thousand years ago but I guess some decided to take the name and fight bad guys." Sheogorath explained. "I've heard of Argonians before; lizard people from the boggy land of Argonia. I read that some were taken as slaves by the Tsaesci long ago, but were treated better due to… well you can guess why. Those slaves didn't have descendants here in Shin Akavir because they needed some kind of tree that the Tsaesci didn't bring. I'd like to meet some, and maybe make friends with them." Kouki said as he twirled a pencil.

"What time is it now? Does someone sit in a control room somewhere and control how the sky looks?" Sheogorath wondered as he looked at a digital watch that materialized onto his left wrist. "Sort of. We have mages that control the weather in Shin Akavir and yes, a control room that maintains the appearance of the _Sky Dome_. It should be seven at night now." Kouki explained. "I think I should be going, seeya." Sheogorath said as he walked away.

To be continued…


	11. Chapter 11

Kouki waves back to Sheogorath as he leaves the isle. Outside, Sheogorath finds the sky has changed to night, displaying false stars and projections of Secunda and Masser. "It looks alright. Could do with some cities." Sheogorath commented as he looked at the sky. As he walked, he misses and step and stumbles down the steps with "Oof!" and "Ow!" as he descends. He crashes on the door of his car, causing the alarm to go off.

Hiroshi, dressed with a black hoodie, walked towards the library and saw Sheogorath. "Sir, are you alright?!" he yelled to Sheogorath in concern as he ran towards him. He puts his arm over his shoulder and lifts him up. "Thanks, kid. Wait, aren't you that Hiroshi guy?" Sheogorath asked in Tamriellic, almost forgetting he's in Shin Akavir. "Mph! That's me! Are you gonna be alright? I know you are a Daedric Prince, but it never hurts to ask." Hiroshi answered in Tamriellic.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Say, you're that checkpoint guy!" Sheogorath said as he recognized Hiroshi. "Oh… you're that mad god guy. How's the Maria sisters?" Hiroshi asked sheepishly. "Well I helped them with nightmare problems, so that's a thing. Anywho, good night." Sheogorath said as he unlocked his car. From a corner in front of the car turned a tall Nord man wearing a yellow jacket and fedora, khaki trousers, and a light brown beard that makes him resemble a lion. He spots Sheogorath and his stern look turns to delight as he waves at him.

"Hey Sheogorath!" he yelled from the corner. Sheogorath turns around and sees the man and gains a look of horror at the sight of him. "I gotta get outta here!" Sheogorath panted stressfully as he sucked his S.U.V. into his hat. The Nord walks towards them as Sheogorath starts to run away to the confusion of Hiroshi. "I thought he retired already!" Sheogorath thought as he ran along the pavement as the Nord man chases him.

"Wait up!" the Nord yelled to Sheogorath as he continued to chase him. They run towards a wharf of an underground lake where a large beetle burrows out of the tiled floor in front of Sheogorath, causing him to trip and fall. "Ugh, not again." he groaned. The Nord man approaches Sheogorath as the beetle flies away. "Hey, why'd you run?" the man asked Sheogorath.

"Shove-it, do you realise that you annoy everyone you meet with your damned mustard addiction?" Sheogorath asked as he sat on the ground. "I don't have an addiction. And the name's Jan the Shovel, don't forget it." the man denied as he tipped his hat. "Get out of my face or… something will happen." Sheogorath threatened. "Well, good evening to you as well." Jan pouted as he turned around and walked away. As Sheogorath dusted himself off, a massive three-horned turtle rises out of the water and stretches its head over Sheogorath, staring at him menacingly with its beady eyes.

He turns around and looks above him to see the turtle staring at him. "Wonderful w-weather we're having" he joked nervously. Jan looks back and is surprised to see the turtle staring down at Sheogorath. The turtle bites Sheogorath by the head and starts thrashing him around to Jan's horror. "I'll save you!" Jan proclaimed as he unbuttoned his jacket, revealing a white undershirt and a black metal belt with a large green gem.

He takes a small yellow book attached from a chainlike strap holding four others in orange, purple, grey, and red on the right hand side of the belt and holds it outwards. "Transform!" he yelled before inserting the book into the belt, absorbing it as the restoration symbol appears on the belt. "Restoration!" a gurgled voice boomed from the belt. Magical blue ribbons emerge from the green gem and wrap around Jan before disintegrating and revealing black apprentice robes with yellow armoured gauntlets and a helmet resembling a goat-horned troll skull. "A-A-A-Arcane!" the gurgled voice announced. By the time he took a fighting stance, palms out, right arm outstretched and left under his chin, the turtle and Sheogorath was gone.

"Well… damn." he bemoaned. In the waters of the lake, the turtle swims in the water rapidly as it bites onto Sheogorath by his arm, him struggling to hold his breath. On the surface, a large lake stood at the base of a mountain where the giant turtle breached the water. Sheogorath takes a deep breath as the turtle floats towards the edge of the lake. The reach land and the turtle release Sheogorath to his relief.

"Why? What did I do?!" Sheogorath asked the turtle angrily. "I sense a Daedric presence, I dispatch it. You're an exception, just barely. Don't come back to Shin Akavir." the turtle's voice boomed. "Do you know who I am? I'm Sheogorath!" Sheogorath yelled. "I know. Go away." The turtle said sternly. "Can I at least have a ride back to the western coast?" Sheogorath asked.

"Fine." the turtle said reluctantly. Sheogorath climbs on top of the turtle's head and holds onto his middle horn. As they shuffle slowly through the forest and knocking down trees in their way, Sheogorath notices a castle atop the turtle's shell, recognizing it as the fortress that empowered the giant robot from earlier that day. "What's your name?" Sheogorath asked the turtle. "I have none." the turtle answered. "What about the castle on your back? I saw it flying and turning into a giant robot." Sheogorath asked.

"Kamegu-Jo, or Turtle Palace Castle." the turtle answered. "How long will this ride take?" Sheogorath asked the turtle. "Hours. I could fly, but we would be obliterated by the Ka Po' Tun." the turtle answered. "Yeah, I knew I should've brought a book. Do you have any in the castle?" Sheogorath asked the turtle. "No. Don't enter, and stay silent." the turtle said. "I guess we end this story like this; with me riding a lore-friendly turtle." Sheograth said to himself.

THE END


End file.
